Folding chair.



w. A. BERNHARD.

FOLDING CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 13, 1916..

v- 1,241,907 I Patented 00t.2,1917.

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WILLIAM A. BERNHARD, OF WOODI-IAVEN, NEW YORK.

FOLDING CHAIR.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. BERN- HARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Woodhaven, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Folding Chairs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relatesv to folding chairs and has for its principal object the provision of a device of this character which can be folded perfectly flat into a relatively compact package for shipment or storage; one which will be simple of construction and reliable in use; one which will be designed so that it may be converted into a stool or arranged in the form of a table if desired.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a chair having a seat provided with a swinging back, the elements of the latter being associated with the elements of the seat so that they all constitute a uniform or uninterrupted top surface when the device is arranged as a stool or table.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective viewof the device.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view thereof showing the same folded.

4 Fig. 3 is a side view of the same.

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view thereof.

The device consists of a main seat 1, which is preferably made up from a plurality of spaced bars or slats 2, the forward ends of which overlie and have permanent connection with a transverse bar 3. Adjacent to the rear ends, said slats overlie and have permanent connection with a transverse bar 4. Brackets 5, upon the bar 3, serve as pivotal supports for the legs 6-6. These legs are connected by a transverse round 7, whereby they are given stability. Similar legs 88, are pivotally connected with brackets 9-9, which extend from the bar 4, and these legs are connected also by a round 7 to give them stability. Attention is invited to the fact that the brackets 5 carrying the front legs 6 are spaced farther from each other than the brackets 9 carrying the rear legs 8, whereby the former pass entirely outside of the rear legs 6 when the device is folded as seen in Fig. 4. Attention is also invited to the fact'that the legs are of such length that when folded upward they lie flat against the lower side of the seat, which follows from the spacing of the Specification of Letters Patent.

bars 3 and 4 a greater distance from each other than the length of the legs.

. Toggle lever braces. 10 connect the front legs 6 with the rear legs 8, and each brace comprises a metallic link 11 pivoted at its Patented Oct. 2, 1917. Application filed October 13, 1916. Serial N 0. 125,456.

rear end to a rear leg nearthe upper end of the latter, and a second metallic link 13 pivoted at its front end at 14 to a front leg 6 near the lower end of'the latter. The meeting ends of these links are connected by an intermediate pivot 12, adjacent which the upper edge of one link, as 11, is provided with a recess 15, while the other link, at .13,

is continued beyond the pivot and deflected at its extremity into a stop lug 16 adapted to. engage said recess when the links are in alinement as seen in Fig. 3. Therefore the toggle can not be broken by pressing downward on its intermediate pivot at this time,

but by inverting the entire structure and f applying pressure at the bottom of the tog gle, the same can be broken and the front and rear legs are then free to be swung' against the seat 1, and against the under side thereof as shown in Fig. 4. The legs 88, are provided with notches 8, to receive the round 7, of the legs 66, when the latter are folded against the under side of the seat 1. l

The back 17 is likewise composed of spaced slats 18 alternated with and intervening between the rear ends of the seat slats 2 and connected with each other across both extremities by strips 19. The back is pivoted to the seat by a through-bolt 20 which passes through all slats at a point sufiiciently in rear of the transverse bar 4 to permit the back to incline a little to the rear when it stands upright, at which time the lower extremities of the slats 18 rest against said bar 4 as seen in Fig. 3. The distance between the two strips 19 is such that when the'back is folded these strips pass the extremities of the seat slats and afford a neat finish for both the front and rear edge of the structure. This construction is such that the back may be adjusted to a horizontal position in order that the upperv rest is extended at an inclined angle to the transported and set up or knocked down as the occasion demands. It is exceedingly use ful for campers, tourists, and the like in view of its compactness, as Will be understood.

l/Vhen the section 17, is adjusted to the position shown in Fig. 2, the strips l91 9, are extended over the ends of the bars 2, so as to give an attractive and ornamental appearance to the seat. When the section 17, is adjusted to the inclined position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the adjacent lower ends of the bars 18, come in contact with the bar 4,

and the latter thus forms a stop to limit the tilting movement of said section 17.

The device can also be used to advantage in canoes, boats or like places and at such time the legs 6 and 8, can be folded against the under side of the bars 2, and the back rest adjusted to the position shown in Fig. 1.

What is claimed as new is In a folding chair, the combination with a seat made up of spaced parallel slats and transverse front and rear bars upon which the slats are secured, brackets on both bars projecting inwardly beneath the slats, and folding legs carried by said brackets; of a back made "of parallel spaced slats of a length equal to those of the seat-slats and alternated therewith, a pivot bolt through all slats at a point in rear of the rearmost transverse bar and equi-distant from -the rear ends of the seat-slats and the lower ends of the back-slats, and transverse strips secured across the extremities of the backsl ats, all as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I my signature.

NILLIAM A. BERNHARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, I). C. 

